THE SILENT COUNT

In this thriller, a young nuclear engineer gets a unique opportunity to combat climate change and unwittingly becomes a pawn in a political conspiracy.

Dara Bouldin is a woman of rare genius—at the age of 21, she already has a doctorate in nuclear engineering and is writing nuclear safety code for the Agency for Advanced Energy Research, a government institute. But her work is drearily uninspiring and completely unrelated to her research on climate change, her abiding passion. In addition, she’s still reeling emotionally from a breakup with her fiance, Jericho Wells, now a major rock star. Moreover, she’s assumed responsibility for the steep gambling debts accrued by her father, Avery, a loving man who’s an embarrassingly irresponsible burden. Then Dara’s fortunes suddenly look more promising when she is contacted by Brig. Gen. Alexander Fallsworth, who is interested in her doctoral dissertation on climatological geo-engineering—in short, reversing climate change by repositioning the jet stream. Alexander wants to accomplish precisely this by employing nuclear weapons to eliminate a series of targeted mountain ranges, a peculiar but innovative notion made stunningly plausible by Smiroldo. Dara is initially thrilled but finds out—from colleague and romantic interest Dmitri Andreevich—that Alexander’s real plan is to justify the nuclear destruction of America’s global competitors. As Dara protests to Alexander, “If you use those coordinates, you’ll solve America’s climate problems, but you’ll turn sections of Asia into deserts. Parts of the northern countries would turn into Antarctica, and parts of the southern half would turn into Death Valley. Half of Russia alone would become uninhabitable, as would huge sections of China.” Dara’s ability to intervene is hampered by questions of national security—she can’t simply go public with classified information—as well as the fact that Dmitri turns out to be a Russian spy.

The author shrewdly examines the way in which Dara’s sentimental idealism, even armed as she is with scientific brilliance, leaves her vulnerable to the cynical machinations of political strategies. She’s a delicately drawn character, as intellectually rigorous as she is emotionally pliable. Further, Smiroldo limns with heartbreaking poignancy the origins of Dara’s interest in climate change—her mother died trying to save her from a wildfire in her native Colorado when she was a child. The America depicted in the book is plagued by wildfires and other natural disasters, pummeled by the devastating effects of climate change, a terrifying prospect vividly portrayed. The author’s writing can devolve into melodrama—Dara often refers to the lyrics of popular songs in order to interpret her experiences, vapid examples of poetry. Prepared to run from her mounting problems, she recalls these lines from a fictional song: “Someplace far where nobody knows me / Test this brave new spirit inside / Become a woman of the world of lost borders / Forgive myself and / Get on with my life / And I’ll fly, and I’ll fly away.” Nonetheless, this is an engrossing novel, both scientifically inventive and psychologically sensitive.

An imaginative and engaging blend of SF and political intrigue.